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Combining ingredients to create cooking equipment brands

Since the time Elgin-based Middleby Corp. bought Viking Range about three years ago, Kevin Brown has been working closely with Middleby CEO Selim A. Bassoul to redesign, expand and improve the line of residential kitchen appliances.

Under the direction of Brown, who had been with Viking for about a decade, an entirely redesigned line of Viking products for all appliances was manufactured under new, rigorous quality-testing processes. Brown said the redesign of every product in a short period of time resulted in improvements in reliability and performance.

Brown was recently named president of Viking Range, which makes upscale residential appliances. He will continue to oversee the Viking operations in Greenwood, Mississippi.

"Kevin has been an effective and respected leader with Viking customers, employees and vendors over the past several years, and he has proven time and time again that he can deliver results," said Bassoul, the leader of the rapidly expanding company that started as a supplier of commercial food-processing equipment. Middleby has been acquiring other companies, expanding to home ovens, refrigerators and other kitchen gear.

Brown said Viking has always been a well-respected brand and look. "The growth and innovation is exciting," he said. Viking has used Middleby technology to improve its products and create others. For example, the TurboChef speed cooking oven used at Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and Subway restaurants has been modified and will soon be offered for the residential kitchen. Middleby officials say the oven will be for sale at Abt and other retailers.

"I call it bookshelf technology," Brown said of the recent innovation push. A great deal of the technology and engineering information was in the "Middleby library" and has now been put to use on the upscale Viking lines, he explained.

"We've done a lot with the product line. We have 103 new and improved products," said Brown, 45.

"I am proud to lead Viking into a new era with our redesigned and award-winning residential technologies."

Brown brings more than 25 years of domestic and global appliance experience to his new position.

Since joining Viking Range in 2007, he has held several senior engineering positions with the company. Most recently, he was vice president of operations and engineering. Before joining Viking, he was in management at Whirlpool and Maytag.

Brown said he has spent some time in the Chicago area once Middleby acquired Viking Range. He has a degree in electrical engineering from University of Mississippi. He now lives in Greenwood with his wife and two teenage children.

"I really like Chicago," Brown said, but growing up in Mississippi and Tennessee, he jokes that the Chicago winters are something he is glad he does not have to conquer.

Corporate offices

Avison Young announced that it has been awarded the exclusive disposition assignment for a fully-leased, 134,697-square-foot corporate office building in Bolingbrook.

Avison Young Principals Erik Foster and James Hanson, both members of the firm's national capital markets group, will oversee the assignment. Avison Young is working on behalf of Chicago-based Indevor Investments, which acquired the then-vacant building in 2007.

"These types of assets are extremely rare in the Chicago suburban market," Foster said.

The two-story facility, at 790 Remington Boulevard, is 100 percent occupied by ATI Physical Therapy, a fast-growing health care and physical therapy provider. ATI Physical Therapy operates more than 525 clinics in 19 states. Nationally, the company managed approximately 3.3 million patient interactions in 2015. Following years of steady and rapid growth, the company was purchased by a private equity firm several years ago, then recently was acquired by Advent International, one of the world's leading private equity firms.

Avison Young is a fast-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,300 real estate professionals in 77 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties.

Financial adviser joins family business

Arlington Heights-based retirement planning and wealth management firm Platania Financial Inc. announced the addition of its newest financial planner, Jim Platania, Jr.

He is a registered financial adviser with Cetera Advisor Networks LLC. In addition to earning his Series 7, Series 63, and Series 65 securities registrations, he holds the Certified Financial Planner, Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner designations in the state of Illinois. Prior to working at Platania Financial, he spent two-and-a-half years providing financial services at KPMG LLP. He graduated with honors from the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012. He grew up in Arlington Heights where he graduated from St. Viator High School. Jim's father, James, and mother, Bridget, own the family business at 2 W. Northwest Hwy. in Arlington Heights.

Promotion

James A. Brucato and Mark E. Augustyn, owners of Rosemont-based Principle Construction Corp., announced the promotion of Mike Long to vice president from director of operations. In this new role, Long will be responsible for the overall supervision and direction of the entire staff at Principle.

He will also be responsible to hire talented staff to support the company's continued growth.

"Mike has a passion for construction and is an experienced expert in what we do here at Principle," Brucato said.

Jim Platania Jr.
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